Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Short Interest Down 14.5% in February

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 10,560,000 shares, a decrease of 14.5% from the January 31st total of 12,350,000 shares. Approximately 0.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,050,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 10.1 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royal Bank of Canada

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in RY. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Royal Bank of Canada in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Brucke Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada in the fourth quarter worth approximately $472,000. Canerector Inc. purchased a new stake in Royal Bank of Canada in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,833,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. increased its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 32.2% during the fourth quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 19,837 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,390,000 after purchasing an additional 4,837 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ascent Group LLC purchased a new position in Royal Bank of Canada during the fourth quarter worth approximately $201,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RY has been the subject of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from $195.00 to $193.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. TD Securities cut Royal Bank of Canada from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com raised Royal Bank of Canada from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Barclays raised Royal Bank of Canada from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $156.50.

Royal Bank of Canada Price Performance

RY stock traded up $0.62 on Friday, reaching $114.86. The company had a trading volume of 411,707 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,266,523. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company’s fifty day moving average is $119.66 and its 200 day moving average is $121.57. The company has a market cap of $162.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.91, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.88. Royal Bank of Canada has a 1 year low of $95.84 and a 1 year high of $128.05.

Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 24th will be paid a $1.0251 dividend. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada’s payout ratio is 45.96%.

Royal Bank of Canada Company Profile

Royal Bank of Canada operates as a diversified financial service company worldwide. The company's Personal & Commercial Banking segment offers checking and savings accounts, home equity financing, personal lending, private banking, indirect lending, including auto financing, mutual funds and self-directed brokerage accounts, guaranteed investment certificates, credit cards, and payment products and solutions; and lending, leasing, deposit, investment, foreign exchange, cash management, auto dealer financing, trade products, and services to small and medium-sized commercial businesses.